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Director's Cut (Kate Bush album)

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Director's Cut is a 2011 album by British singer Kate Bush. It is made up of songs from her earlier albums The Sensual World and The Red Shoes which have been remixed and restructured, three of which were re-recorded completely. It was Bush's first album release since 2005's Aerial and the first on her own record label, Fish People.

Overview

Released in May 2011, the album features four tracks taken from The Sensual World (1989) and seven from The Red Shoes (1993) which have been re-recorded while retaining most of the original instrumentation.

Regarding the entirely new lyrics to the song "The Sensual World", now re-titled "Flower of the Mountain", Bush said this: "Originally when I wrote the song "The Sensual World" I had used text from the end of Ulysses by James Joyce, put to a piece of music I had written. When I asked for permission to use the text I was refused, which was disappointing. I then wrote my own lyrics for the song although I felt that the original idea had been more interesting. Well, I’m not James Joyce am I? When I came to work on this project I thought I would ask for permission again and this time they said yes. It is now re-titled "Flower of the Mountain" and I am delighted that I have had the chance to fulfill the original concept. For some time I have felt that I wanted to revisit tracks from these two albums and that they could benefit from having new life breathed into them. Lots of work had gone into the two original albums and now these songs have another layer of work woven into their fabric. I think of this as a new album."[1]

All the lead vocals on Director's Cut and some of the backing vocals have been entirely re-recorded, with some of the songs transposed to a lower key to accommodate Bush's matured voice. Additionally, the drum tracks have been reconceived and re-recorded, with some of the tracks featuring Steve Gadd. Bassist Danny Thompson also appears and, on backing vocals, Mica Paris. Three songs have been completely re-recorded: "This Woman's Work", "Rubberband Girl" and "Moments of Pleasure".

Director's Cut is available as a digital album, a standard CD in a case-bound book, a deluxe version ("Collector's Edition"), consisting of a box set including Director’s Cut, The Sensual World and the The Red Shoes (re-mastered from digital to analogue), and two-disc vinyl. Director's Cut was recorded using analogue equipment. Bush stated in an interview for BBC radio that she never liked the "hard-edged sound" of the digitally recorded The Red Shoes and feels both the new recordings of the songs from this album and the re-mastered The Red Shoes have a "warmer, fuller sound."[2]

The album was a chart success, reaching No. 2 on the UK albums chart (matching the chart peak of both The Sensual World and The Red Shoes) and although it fell swiftly down the chart after its first week it has sold consistently and has since been certified silver in the UK.[3] The album also charted in a number of other countries, including a No. 4 entry in the Irish charts,[4] and also went top ten in the Netherlands and Norway.

Track listing

All tracks are written by Kate Bush with the exception of "Flower of the Mountain" which contains lyrics by James Joyce

No.TitleLength
1."Flower of the Mountain"5:15
2."Song of Solomon"4:45
3."Lily"4:05
4."Deeper Understanding"6:33
5."The Red Shoes"4:58
6."This Woman's Work"6:30
7."Moments of Pleasure"6:32
8."Never Be Mine"5:05
9."Top of the City"4:24
10."And So Is Love"4:21
11."Rubberband Girl"4:37
Total length:57:04

Singles

The only single to be released from the album was "Deeper Understanding", originally the sixth track of The Sensual World. Its lyrics describe a relationship between a lonely person and a computer which has replaced human companionship.[5] The video was released through her official YouTube account.[6] The song features a newly recorded main vocal by Bush, and the voice of her son Albert on the chorus. The single, upon its initial release as a digital download, charted in the UK at No.87.[7]

Critical reception

Professional ratings
Aggregate scores
SourceRating
Metacritic(80/100)[8]
Review scores
SourceRating
Allmusic[9]
The Boston Globefavorable[10]
Entertainment WeeklyB+[11]
The Guardian[12]
The Independent[13]
Pitchfork Media7.3/10[14]
PopMatters8/10[15]
Slant Magazine[16]
Sputnikmusic3/5[17]

Critical reception for the album has been mostly positive, with most reviewers acknowledging the confusion surrounding the release of this unique revisitation of old songs. At Metacritic, which assigns a normalised rating out of 100 to reviews from mainstream critics, the album received an average score of 80, based on 22 reviews, which indicates "universal acclaim".[18] Simon Price in The Independent noted: "Director's Cut was greeted with reactions ranging between disappointment, bafflement and ridicule, before anyone had heard a note...taken on its own merits, however, there's plenty to enjoy..."[19] Fiona Shephard of News.Scotsman.com gave Director's Cut a 4-star review, writing: "Ever the perfectionist, Kate Bush has revisited earlier songs, the first-time recordings of which didn't reflect her original vision. The resulting revamps are satisfying, rounded - and occasionally bizarre."[20]

Chart and certifications

References

  1. ^ Sean Michaels. "Kate Bush reveals guest lyricist on new album – James Joyce The Guardian 5 April 2011". Guardian. Retrieved 17 November 2011.
  2. ^ "BBC Radio, interview with Kate Bush". Bbc.co.uk. 4 May 2011. Retrieved 17 November 2011.
  3. ^ a b "Chart Stats - Kate Bush - Director's Cut". chartstats.com. Retrieved 17 September 2011.
  4. ^ "The Hot Press Newsdesk, 20 May 2011". Hotpress.com. Retrieved 17 November 2011.
  5. ^ "Deeper Understanding Lyrics". Lyricsfreak.com. Retrieved 17 November 2011.
  6. ^ KateBushMusic. "Official Kate Bush channel". YouTube. Retrieved 17 November 2011.
  7. ^ ""Deeper Understanding"". Chartstats. 16 April 2011. Retrieved 17 November 2011.
  8. ^ "Director's Cut Reviews, Ratings, Credits, and More". Metacritic. Retrieved 14 August 2012.
  9. ^ Jurek, Thom (16 May 2011). "Director's Cut - Kate Bush : Songs, Reviews, Credits, Awards". AllMusic. Retrieved 14 August 2012.
  10. ^ "Kate Bush, 'Director's Cut' - The Boston Globe". Boston.com. 23 May 2011. Retrieved 14 August 2012.
  11. ^ Reviewed by Mikael Wood (18 May 2011). "Director's Cut review - Kate Bush Review | Music Reviews and News". EW.com. Retrieved 14 August 2012. {{cite web}}: Text "May 18, 2011" ignored (help)
  12. ^ Alexis Petridis. "Kate Bush: Director's Cut - review | Music". The Guardian. Retrieved 14 August 2012.
  13. ^ Gill, Andy (13 May 2011). "Album: Kate Bush, Director's Cut (Fish People) - Reviews - Music". The Independent. Retrieved 14 August 2012.
  14. ^ "Kate Bush: Director's Cut | Album Reviews". Pitchfork. 19 May 2011. Retrieved 14 August 2012.
  15. ^ Gilstrap, Andrew. "Kate Bush: Director's Cut < PopMatters". Popmatters.com. Retrieved 14 August 2012.
  16. ^ "Kate Bush: Director's Cut | Music Review". Slant Magazine. Retrieved 14 August 2012.
  17. ^ "Kate Bush - Director's Cut (staff review)". Sputnikmusic. 16 May 2011. Retrieved 14 August 2012.
  18. ^ "Director's Cut – Kate Bush". Metacritic. CBS Interactive. Retrieved 10 June 2011.
  19. ^ Reviewed by Simon Price (15 May 2011). "Album: Kate Bush, Director's Cut (Fish People) - Reviews - Music". The Independent. Retrieved 17 November 2011.
  20. ^ Published on Thu 12 17 May:00:57 BST 2011. "Album review: Kate Bush, Director's Cut - News - Scotsman.com". News.scotsman.com. Retrieved 17 November 2011.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
  21. ^ "australian-charts.com Kate Bush - Director's Cut". Australian Recording Industry Association. Retrieved 8 August 2011.
  22. ^ "Kate Bush - Director's Cut – austriancharts.at" (in German). Retrieved 12 September 2011.
  23. ^ "ultratop.be - Kate Bush - Director's Cut". ultratop.be/nl, Hung Medienaccessdate=2011-08-29 (in Dutch). Ultratop.
  24. ^ "ultratop.be - Kate Bush - Director's Cut". ultratop.be/fr,, Hung Medien (in Dutch). Ultratop. Retrieved 29 August 2011.
  25. ^ "ALBUMS : Top 100 (FOR THE WEEK ENDING 2 JUNE, 2011)". 9 June 2011. Archived from the original on 10 June 2011. Retrieved 10 June 2011.
  26. ^ "danishcharts.com Kate Bush - Director's Cut". danishcharts.com. Retrieved 30 August 2011.
  27. ^ "dutchcharts.nl Kate Bush - Director's Cut". dutchcharts.nl (in Dutch). MegaCharts. Retrieved 8 August 2011.
  28. ^ "finnishcharts.com Kate Bush - Director's Cut" (in Finnish). Retrieved 17 September 2011.
  29. ^ "lescharts.com Kate Bush - Director's Cut". lescharts.com (in French). SNEP. Retrieved 17 September 2011.
  30. ^ "Album Search: Kate Bush" (in German). Media Control. Retrieved 8 August 2011. {{cite web}}: Cite has empty unknown parameter: |1= (help)
  31. ^ "Irishcharts.com - Kate Bush - Director's Cut". Hung Medien. Retrieved 17 September 2011.
  32. ^ "Classifica album FIMI" (in Italian). ACNielsen. Retrieved 3 June 2011.
  33. ^ ケイト・ブッシュ-リリース-ORICON STYLE-ミュージック "Highest position and charting weeks of Director's Cut (Deluxe edition) by Kate Bush". oricon.co.jp (in Japanese). Oricon Style. Retrieved 8 August 2011. {{cite web}}: Check |url= value (help); Italic or bold markup not allowed in: |publisher= (help)
  34. ^ "charts.org.nz - Kate Bush - Director's Cut". Recording Industry Association of New Zealand. Retrieved 8 August 2011.
  35. ^ "norwegiancharts.com Kate Bush - Director's Cut". Retrieved 12 September 2011.
  36. ^ "Oficjalna lista sprzedaży :: OLIS - Official Retail Sales Chart". OLIS. 22 May 2011. Retrieved 17 November 2011.
  37. ^ a b "swedishcharts.com - Kate Bush - Director's Cut". swedishcharts.com (in Swedish). Hung Medien. Retrieved 16 September 2011.
  38. ^ a b "Billboard Charts". Billboard Magazine. Retrieved 10 June 2011.
  39. ^ "British album certifications – Kate Bush – Director's Cut". British Phonographic Industry. Select albums in the Format field. Select Silver in the Certification field. Type Director's Cut in the "Search BPI Awards" field and then press Enter.
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